The Woman Who Shook the Giant's Forest
The Giant's Forest.
It was one of the most famous mysterious places on the continent — a land where every living creature born within it grew to three or four times its natural size.
The homeland of giants, and nowadays a living hell overrun by the worst ultra-large monsters imaginable.
As long as humans stayed out of the forest, there had never been much of a problem. But at some point, the population of the Flext — rank 7 ultra-large monsters — had exploded.
These aggressively inclined monsters poured out of the forest, attacking villages and homes, and even stormed the city where the lord resided, leaving the surrounding lands a scorched wasteland.
The offensive of these ultra-large, high-danger monsters was a great calamity that seemed beyond humanity's power to withstand, and even the army dispatched by the kingdom was reduced to nothing more than a lunchtime snack for the Flext.
Just as everyone trembled in terror before a disaster that could not possibly be stopped—
a woman appeared out of nowhere.
Riding a swarm of violet butterflies, she invaded the Giant's Forest — the enemy's very stronghold — all alone.
"...That's... incredible."
The administrator of the Carlos Kingdom was watching that historic scene unfold before his eyes.
The battle itself was simple. Butterflies latched onto the throats of the hideous ultra-large monsters, and the woman swung her scythe.
That was all.
The giants' heads were sliced clean off, tumbling to the ground with heavy thuds. Dust clouds billowed across the Giant's Forest.
It was overwhelming.
It was a scene that laid bare exactly why a single organization called Kizen ruled half of this vast continent.
"Good work out there."
The woman, who had shaken the Giant's Forest to its foundations single-handedly in just one day, walked over to the administrator.
"A mutant queen was born, and that's what caused the population to explode. I've eliminated the source, so you can rest easy now."
At her gesture, the scythe transformed back into butterflies and soared into the sky.
The administrator bowed his head in deep respect.
"The entire kingdom owes you an immense debt, Vice Principal."
That woman's name was Jane Olivia.
The situation had been so dire — casualties nearing a thousand — that Nephthys had willingly sent her own right hand.
Kizen's No. 2 had come in person. A disaster that everyone had believed would only worsen without end was resolved in a single day.
With this, the Carlos Kingdom once again owed Kizen an enormous favor. And the mouths of the anti-Kizen faction, who had been preaching the uselessness of the academy, were firmly shut.
"W-well, we certainly didn't expect the Vice Principal herself to come."
"Professor is a sufficient title."
Jane spread open her notebook and scribbled something with her quill as she spoke.
"And I trust the southern dam construction project led by Kizen is in good hands."
One hand washes the other, as they say. The administrator hurriedly replied.
"Of-of course it will be."
Groveling before Jane, the administrator felt a bone-deep realization settle over him.
In this mad world, survival was impossible unless you joined hands with one side or the other — the necromancers or the priests.
Tucking the notebook into the breast pocket of her suit, Jane spoke.
"Ren."
Whoosh!
A man in a black robe dropped to one knee.
"Your orders, ma'am."
"Prepare a teleportation circle. Before we return to Roc Island — since we've come all this way, there's a place I'd like to see."
"Where shall I take you?"
After a moment of thought, Jane's lips parted.
"That dungeon Professor Silaje was dispatched to. I'd like to check on the progress."
Jane and the robed agent entered the dungeon together.
The sky was black. The ground was red.
Walking across the crimson soil, Jane lifted her head.
"So that's the Blood Ring."
At the entrance of the dungeon.
Around the only passage leading deeper, a blood-red ring — like a crimson moon hanging in the sky — wobbled and rotated, glistening wetly.
"I've heard it's a type of hemomantic curse. A curse that boils the blood of anyone unauthorized who dares draw near."
"Yes, ma'am."
A curse of that scale, maintained semi-permanently? Merely watching it made the hairs on the back of Jane's neck stand on end.
"It used to be far larger than this."
The agent picked up the report.
"Since Professor Silaje entered the core of the ring, its size has been shrinking day by day. At this rate, we project the ring will vanish completely within three to four months."
"And after that, whatever horrors lie inside that dungeon will reveal themselves."
Scholars had judged the Blood Ring to be a phenomenon unique to this dungeon alone.
But someone who entered the dungeon had learned how to control the ring, and instead of destroying the dungeon's master, had deliberately claimed the space itself for their own purposes.
It had become a lawless zone, now beyond the reach of both Kizen and the kingdom. No one knew what terrible things were happening in there.
The problem was that a dangerous Class 1 wanted criminal — someone Kizen had been hunting — was hiding inside.
Kizen had moved to capture the criminal who had committed unforgivable sins. They had even dispatched Silaje, the current Hemomancy professor, and while he was having a hard time of it, the Blood Ring was certainly shrinking.
Jane nodded.
"We've seen enough. Let's go back. There's nothing we can do at the moment."
That same morning.
An empty lecture room on the second floor of Kizen's Lecture Hall.
"Haha! Everyone's here, huh?"
Dick stood at the blackboard and bellowed with all the smugness he could muster.
"Welcome to Dick's Lecture on Siege Warfare!"
Simon, seated in the audience, gave a suitably feeble 'woooow.' Beside him, Meilin propped her chin on her hand with a sullen expression and popped a single potato chip into her mouth.
"...It's just one of Endolas Vaudeville's games. I could be solving another practice problem with this time."
"You take that back!"
BANG!
Dick slammed his palm down on the table.
Startled out of her boredom, Meilin dropped her potato chips all over the floor.
"Ahh! What was that for?!"
"The siege theme is Endolas Vaudeville's masterpiece — a game he poured his very soul into! How often in your life do you get a chance to play something like this, huh?"
"Okay, okay, Dick. Calm down."
Simon smoothed over the overheated atmosphere.
In the next After-School BMAT, Simon and Meilin were planning to follow Dick into the siege theme. Camibarez, whose strategy from the start was to go all-in on blue cards, couldn't participate in the siege at all.
"Alright, let's knock this out quick and then go get something tasty to eat!"
Dick picked up a piece of chalk and began his explanation.
"As you both know, the siege theme pits 15 attackers against 15 defenders — thirty students in total. We're going in as the defense."
"Why?"
Meilin asked.
"Because I like defending more."
Ducking the potato chip she flung at him, Dick quickly added,
"A-and obviously, because I've played way more defense, I've got way more intel on it! Anyway! Here's how the castle is laid out."
Dick drew a square on the blackboard.
Then, along the outer edge of the square, he sketched gates. The castle had four gates: east, west, south, and north.
"This part I just drew is the outer castle."
Dick drew another, smaller square inside the first.
"And this is the inner castle. The moment even one gate falls, the allied forces in the outer castle fall back to the inner castle. And it's our job as necromancers to make sure those soldiers retreat safely!"
"Fine. So how many entrances does the inner castle have?"
Even Meilin, who had been grumbling the whole time, was clearly focused now that the lecture had actually begun.
"North and south."
Dick drew two gates on the small square.
"Unless the attack team is truly hopeless, the outer castle falling is inevitable. That said, the inner castle has taller walls and fewer sections to defend, so it's far easier to hold."
This time it was Simon who asked.
"And if the inner castle falls too?"
"Then it becomes urban warfare!"
Dick filled the inside of the small square with row after row of little houses.
"Aon Castle, the stage for this game, is built on terrain that climbs steadily from low hills up to high ground. Enemies who break through the inner castle will climb the stairs upward, step by step. And then, at the very top—"
Dick drew a crown shape in the exact center.
"At the peak of the castle sits the Royal Palace. And naturally, the king lives in the Royal Palace."
Simon, who had been listening quietly, crossed his arms.
"So protecting the king is the defenders' objective."
"Correct! And the attackers' goal is to kill the king! Everyone following? Nothing too hard, right?"
Meilin tilted her head.
"Then wouldn't it be smarter to just hide the king somewhere other than the Royal Palace?"
"Ah-ah! If the king abandons his throne for too long, his location gets revealed to the attackers. The creator of this world is Endolas Vaudeville himself — you think cheap tricks would work on him?"
Meilin wasn't listening anymore. As if struck by a profound shock, she pressed a hand to her forehead and muttered.
"...To think I'm being called a cheapskate by a commoner."
"Gwahaha! I'm not the only one who gets scolded by you all the time!"
Dick's cheerful lecture rolled on.
"Now! Besides that, there's something called the Guardian Stone beneath the Royal Palace. If it gets destroyed, the barrier surrounding both the inner and outer castles collapses — and the attack team gains access from the air."
Simon's lips parted slightly. That was a big deal.
"Any necromancer with flight ability could just fly straight into the Royal Palace, then."
"Exactly! There are also other structures that give the attackers bonuses when destroyed, but you don't need to memorize all that. Just remember the Guardian Stone. Lecture over!"
Meilin shoved her empty potato chip bag aside.
"Okay, so what's the score so far?"
"The first game, the defense team won. The second game, those attack-team bastards took it."
Dick gritted his teeth as he answered, burning with fighting spirit.
"That's exactly why I'm rounding up aces like you two by any means necessary! Those attack-team sons of bitches — I swear we get our revenge in the next game!"
Dick smirked at the two of them.
"You two could do it, right?"
"Of course."
Simon answered with a faint smile.
"If we're doing this, we're winning it thoroughly. Don't worry."
Meilin tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and chimed in.
"How about we just crush them so badly they can't even take the outer castle?"
"Ooh, I like that! That'd be the ultimate humiliation for those attack-team kids!"
And so the three of them talked about the siege theme for hours, losing all track of time.
At the same time.
One floor directly below the Lecture Hall where Simon's group was gathered — in another empty lecture room.
"Welcome, Jule~!"
A girl with twin tails, a uniform draped over her shoulders with medals jingling across it, clapped her hands and beamed a dazzling smile.
"To the attack-team strategy meeting for the siege game!"
She was Special Admission No. 7, the commander of the Ghost Ship — Elisa Celine.
"I can't help but wonder if all this is truly necessary."
The one who had answered her summons was a boy with an eyepatch over one eye, a longsword as tall as himself hanging at his hip.
Though his condition fluctuated, at his absolute peak his raw combat power was said to be the strongest in Kizen's first-year class — Special Admission No. 5. Jule Vincere.
"What's the matter? Don't you want your revenge on Simon too?"
"Nothing of the sort. You're the only one who wants revenge, I'd wager."
A vein bulged at Elisa's temple.
"Of course I do! I'll have my revenge, no matter what!"
In the 3rd BMAT, Elisa had lost first place to Simon — on the ocean theme, her own home turf, no less.
That alone was galling enough to make her sick, and then in the recent After-School BMAT she had been utterly helpless against Simon's strategy, suffering a humiliation of a defeat.
"I, Elisa Celine, am a woman who cannot rest until every debt is repaid tenfold."
Jule, his expression one of perfect indifference, idly stroked the hilt of the longsword at his waist.
"As for me, anything suits me fine, so long as I may test my blade against Simon Polentia."
Jule had first seen Simon at the After-School BMAT.
The moment he witnessed the Blood Arrow Simon had used that day, he had resolved to cross blades with him at least once.
"By the way — is it true that Simon Polentia is joining the siege theme?"
"Absolutely certain."
Elisa chuckled.
"I heard it from a very reliable source. Apparently there's a guy named Dick, one of Simon's best friends, who plays nothing but the siege theme, and he's been recruiting talent to make sure the defense team wins. Naturally, he's been talking Simon into it too — and word is Simon's responded positively."
"Then at the very least, we'll see him in this next siege. Or the last one."
"And that's exactly why—"
Elisa's eyes turned toward the door. Heavy footsteps thudded closer.
"—I've recruited the final piece for the attack team's hundred percent victory."
"?"
SLAM!
The door burst open violently, and a huge male student strode inside.
"I hear there's a chance to fight Simon Polentia."
Thud. Thud.
Under the sheer pressure radiating from his entire body, even Elisa — herself a Special Admission student — went visibly tense. Jule quietly gripped the hilt of his longsword.
"If that's a lie—"
THUMP!
BANG! BANG!
Hector dropped into a chair, propped both feet up on the desk, and growled.
"—then I'll beat the both of you to death right here."